Angela Mazzi, AIA, ACHA, EDAC

My work as a career coach began first as advice to friends, but soon expanded into a much broader base of mentoring young architects and architecture students. I have been offering professional coaching services since 2011. My book, Career Crisis, which is a series of self-guided coaching exercises was published in 2013.

My passion for architecture stems from a deep interest in the effect that environments have on people. I have concentrations in business, architecture history, urban design and sociology and am happiest when I can apply all of these skills to a project. I have a wide range of experience, but the latter half of my carer has brought with it a specialization in healthcare design, perhaps because it is the one typology where users have the least amount of control over their environments and are also most vulnerable to the effects of them.

I received my degree in architecture from Carnegie Mellon University, where I also studied industrial management and architectural history. This combination of design with business management and communication as well as socio-cultural context have given me a unique perspective on how the creative mind works as well as the many ways we can fail to speak the language of our clients. My graduate work at the University of Arizona focused specifically on the ways that culture shapes the way we understand and use space. This focus helps me to understand the culture of an organization and to effectively translate the needs of the users of the space. I have worked extensively with owners and user groups at organizations of all types and sizes, from local CDC’s and planning departments, to businesses and hospitality groups to healthcare systems. I am a registered architect with accreditation in Evidence Based Design as well as a member of the American College of Healthcare Architects.

Ihope that this site can serve as an online mentor for architects at any age or stage and invite readers to share their own insights and experiences as well. Don’t forget to follow me on twitter at @AngelaMazzi to get nearly daily updates on this blog plus anything else I find of interest.

Stay Inspired,
Angela

“I came to work with Angela Mazzi after discovering her blog Patron Saint of Architecture and her Novena series called Shattering the Meme. I found the series and her voice to be compelling, and signed up for a webinar series followed by individual coaching sessions. Angela showed me how erroneous and limiting beliefs get in the way personal success. At one point in our lives or another, we can all use a career coach, a mentor – someone who is able to deftly guide us with insight and compassion. Angela is that person.”

Filiz Satir

“Thank you for taking time out of your Friday morning to speak with me. It was a pleasure to meet you. I am very appreciative of all the great advice and perspective you gave me. It has really helped me to organize thoughts, and prioritize the areas in which I need to focus on as I document my work experience, and begin to create a “footprint” in the healthcare design community through LinkedIn and Twitter. Your insight into the benefits of my time off of work, and the unique perspective it afforded me was very helpful, and very reassuring.

I feel very fortunate to have met you Angela. Your passion is infectious, and your knowledge of and dedication to healthcare architecture is something I truly admire.”

Jessica Rieveschl

“I am so excited about your seminars! Since I didn’t register in time, I figured that I would listen the the first webinar and it was FANTASTIC!! Seriously, fantastic! I bought your book and started answering the questions and could literally feel my blood pumping creative energy and MY mission…I love that we are trying to ‘change the world’ with our life’s work.

The other thing that was fantastic was the lecture gave me all the validation and feedback that I’d been looking for at work; which results in my needing to stop being a victim and start taking control of my own course! Thank you so much!”

Caitlin Osborn

“Maybe I romanticize the idea that architecture as a profession was more easy to navigate in the past. That is probably not true. Now, architecture as a profession has the opportunity, maybe more than ever, to be more easily navigated with information sharing, but there are some big (egotistical!) perceptions about the profession architects need to first be able to humbly admit are obstacles, and then to open up and share so that architects have their bearings and feel more grounded in their own goals, and build the right skills.

THANK you for writing this book, there is a lot people don’t discuss about the profession, and a lot of us, including me, feel in crisis. I am so glad you are presenting some common-sense ideas…there is a lot people don’t discuss about the profession, and a lot of us, including me, feel in crisis. I am so glad you are presenting some common-sense ideas.”

Jennifer Choto

“I think this series was an excellent beginning for me and I would like to continue with career coaching to define and delineate a clear path to fulfilling my life’s purpose. I feel that your workshop has given me the motivation to build a action-oriented plan. You did an excellent job of crafting individual sessions that logically built on one another. I particularly like the radar chart exercise.”